Wildfires continue to burn, scope of devastation becomes clearer

Wildfires continued to burn in northwest Oklahoma on Wednesday, bringing the total to more than 830,000 acres scorched since Monday.

None of the fires have been contained, state emergency management spokeswoman Keli Cain said, but there were no additional reports of deaths or injuries.

In what’s being called the Starbuck fire, 715,484 acres have burned near Buffalo, Knowles, Gate, Rosston and Laverne in Beaver and Harper counties, according to Oklahoma Forestry Services.

In the Selman fire in Harper and Woodward counties, wildfires have blackened 47,289 acres, the forestry services reports.

“We’ve had some fire growth today, but it hasn’t been too bad. Right now, we’re starting to see the agricultural disaster,” Woodward County Emergency Manager Matt Lehenbauer said.

More than 1,000 miles of fences have been destroyed, along with thousands of bales of hay and potentially thousands of head of livestock, he said.

“The damage estimate is difficult because it’s hard getting into the active fire area.We just don’t know so far, but with the sporadic numbers we’re getting so far, it’s going to be significant,” Lehenbauer said.

Forestry Services reported that in the Harper County “283” fire, 71,168 acres have burned and numerous communities remain threatened.

“Much of northern Harper County is burned up,” is how J.D. Nielsen, manager of Tyree Ag, described the devastation.

More than 50 head of cattle were killed in the Laverne area, Nielsen said.

“The cattle couldn’t outrun the flames,” he said.

Six farmers lost their entire hay fields, Nielsen said.

Many barns and several outbuildings in Harper County were lost, he said.

“There has been all kinds of devastation,” said Tom Fanning, manager of Buffalo Feeders, a cattle feed yard near Buffalo.

“The fire has totally destroyed everything in its path, but other times it will get right to the house, and the house is saved.”

Crews will be battling wildfires in northwest Oklahoma for several more days, according to David Barnes, emergency management director for Oklahoma County. Oklahoma County fire departments organized a task force that was sent to northwest Oklahoma early Wednesday to help in the efforts.

Various fire departments supplied four brush pumper trucks for fighting fires in rough terrain and an engine and tanker truck to carry water. The crew will stay at the fire sites after the fires are under control to prevent flare-ups, Barnes said.

Local task forces from Caddo, Grant, Logan, Major, Payne, Pittsburg, Pontotoc counties and the town of Goltry also sent help to the wildfire areas on Wednesday, Cain said.

Additional fires were reported in Choctaw, McClain, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie and Osage counties, but no assistance was requested for those fires.

State emergency officials reported Wednesday that eight people had been treated at hospitals for breathing problems caused by the smoky air.

A 63-year-old woman died of an apparent heart attack on Monday after helping her husband fight a fire on their farm near Buffalo. Corey Holt, 39, an Oklahoma City tractortrailer driver, died Monday in Kansas after getting out of his jack-knifed rig and succumbing to the smoke.

It’s not clear what sparked the wildfires, which also burned across Colorado, Kansas and the Texas Panhandle.

Bill Bunting, forecast operations chief at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, said human activity causes most wildfires in the prairie — a cigarette thrown from a car or sometimes a spark from a catalytic converter. Bunting said lightning accounts for 25 percent of wildfires.

Parched conditions, strong winds and low humidity put the region at risk for wildfires. Noting the abundance of vegetation fuel, drought conditions and windiness, Liz Leitman, a Storm Prediction Center meteorologist, said “everything has come together to overlap to create a pretty volatile situation.”

Leitman said the latest outbreak of wildfires “seems to be, at least in my experience, a naturally occurring cycle for this area.”

The American Red Cross is providing aid and relief to victims and first responders.

Kaylynne Clingerman, disaster program manager for northwest Oklahoma, said the Red Cross began providing snacks, water and meals for first responders as soon as the command centers were set up.

“The entire town of Laverne as well as other portions of Woodward County were evacuated, and the Red Cross set up an evacuation center and supported other local shelters for those people until they were able to make other living arrangements,” Clingerman said.

The Red Cross is helping six families who lost their homes, Clingerman said, and is partnering with the Southern Baptist Men and the Salvation Army to run canteens for first responders.

Fire victims who need assistance and people who want to assist with the Red Cross disaster effort can call 580-256-3828.